1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of controlling the irrigation of a field with a center pivot irrigation system during times of drought or during times of reduced water availability.
2. Description of the Related Art
A center pivot irrigation system travels around a field in a circular manner. Certain parts of the field have greater yield potentials than other parts of the field due to variables such as soil texture, topography of the field, etc. If an unlimited irrigation water supply is available to the irrigator, all areas of the field, regardless of their yield potential, will receive sufficient water to produce whatever yield is possible. A problem arises when the water supply is limited due to the water availability or times of drought. If the same amount of available water is applied to all areas of the field, regardless of the yield potential thereof, no part of the field will receive enough water to produce any crop at all. It is therefore desirable to provide sufficient water to those parts of the field having the greatest yield potential with sufficient water while not applying any water to the parts of the field having lower yield potential. The difficulty of that strategy is to determine those parts of the field to which adequate water may be applied and to determine those parts of the field having the greatest yield potential.